Samsung is preparing to launch a new 10.1-inch display next week which will boast a resolution of 2560 by 1600, making it the first ‘Retina’ display to be announced for tablets. But will it be making its way into the iPad 3?

The display is set to be unveiled by Samsung and its partner, Nouvoyance, at the SID Display Week 2011 International Symposium taking place next week. With a pixel density of 300 pixels per inch, the display is capable of a 2560 by 1600 resolution which places it within Apple’s ‘Retina’ display range as defined by Steve Jobs when the iPhone 4 was announced last year.

Using RGBW PenTile technology, the new display consumes less power than traditional LCDs, and still provides full high-definition viewing, according to Samsung’s Senior Vice President, Dr. Sungtae Shin:

Samsung’s PenTile display technology is the only display technology that operates at 40 percent less power yet provides twice that of Full HD-viewing performance for consumers compared to legacy RGB stripe LCDs. There is no other commercial display technology on the market today that offers this high of a resolution and pixel density in a 10.1-inch size display.

With Samsung already supplying Apple with LCDs for many of its devices – including the iPad 2 – surely this new display points to a third-generation iPad with a Retina display?

Not necessarily. There are a number of reasons why Apple won’t use Samsung’s new display, and the most obvious is its size. At 10.1-inches, it’s bigger than the 9.7-inch displays used in Apple’s current iPads, and we don’t think the iPad will get any bigger.

In addition to this, the 2560 by 1600 resolution is greater than the projected resolution of the iPad 3, which is only expected to double to 2048 by 1536 pixels. Apple also prefers conventional RGB stripe displays over Samsung’s PenTile matrix, which is used in the iPhone 4’s Retina display and is said to increase viewing angles.

We’re likely to see Samsung’s new display in its next Galaxy Tab, which is already available with a 10.1-inch display. And if it launches before Apple introduces a Retina display to the iPad, it will be the first time Samsung has a major hardware advantage over Apple’s incredibly popular tablet.

I’m hoping, as I’m sure you are, that Apple is working on a Retina display of its own for the next iPad.

How would safari browsing work on a display like that? You can’t make the internet resolution independent. It works on the iphone 4 because the res is low but 2560×1600 is ridiculous!

Bryan_yeap

this is so impossible…

Panos

This seems too soon! I thought “Retina” res screens this size where at least a year away..(aka iPad 3). Now I feel jealous (even though I’d never buy anything Android).

ivan_b

I would stay as far away from PenTile displays as I can.

Hampus

“We’re likely to see Samsung’s new display in its next Galaxy Tab, which is already available with a 10.1-inch display.”

Really? Wow, I mean as we can see from the ones people got at Google IO UI animations as simple as switching between homescreens can lag, with such performance it couldn’t possibly handle such a large resolution…

prof_peabody

It’s an OLED PenTIle display using sub-pixels. I don’t see how Apple will ever use such a thing.

Also, the fact that it uses sub-pixels could mean that the 2560×1600 resolution is not really true.

Amazed

10.1 inch 2560×1600 display = 298.9 PPI = No Retina

About the author

Killian Bell is a staff writer based in the U.K. He has an interest in all things tech and also covers Android over at CultofAndroid.com. You can follow him on Twitter via @killianbell.

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